-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- This week 's Bank of the West Classic in Stanford , California , reaches a notable milestone as the tournament celebrates its 40th year -- the oldest WTA Tour event on the circuit .

The tournament has been hosted in the grounds of Stanford University for the past 14 years , after various different venues in the North California area , and its roll-call of former winners reads like a who 's - who of women 's tennis .

Martina Navratilova holds the record for most singles titles , with five between 1979 and 1993 .

Reigning U.S. Open champion Kim Clijsters has four wins , with American legends Chris Evert and Lindsay Davenport and Billie Jean King with three victories each .

And , in recognition of reaching the landmark , tournament organizers have arranged a special presentation before the semifinals on Saturday July 31 .

Four former champions , each representing a different decade , will be paraded ; inuaugural champion King -LRB- 1970s -RRB- , two-time champion Andrea Jaeger -LRB- 1980s -RRB- , Davenport -LRB- 1990s -RRB- and defending champion Marion Bartoli -LRB- 2000s -RRB- .

It was fitting that King won the initial tournament , as she had fought so hard for the introduction of the WTA Tour .

And , the 1971 tournament at the San Francisco Civic Auditorium , in which King beat Rosie Casals in the final of an event then known as the British Motor Cars Invitational , was to become the first of 24 events that year that formed the first-ever WTA Tour calendar .

The tournament became the Virginia Slims of California in 1974 and its venue moved around the San Francisco area before settling at the Oakland Coliseum between 1979 and 1996 .

The tournament has continued to grow and grow since moving to Standford , with Stanford Director of Tennis Dick Gould telling the local Mercury News website : `` It 's been a great marriage and just about every great player from the last 14 years has played here .

`` It 's been a really great thing for not only Stanford , but for the Northern California community in general . ''

Australian Samantha Stosur is the top seed for the 2010 version , although injury means that the Williams sisters -- who both hail from the area -- will not be in action .

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This week 's Bank of the West Classic in Stanford , California celebrates its 40th year

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It is the oldest tournament on the WTA Tour and formed the first event in the WTA Tour calendar

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American legend Billie Jean King win the first tournament , beating Rosie Casals in the final

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Four former champions , each representing a different decade , will be paraded to the crowd